Looking back over the last 12 months, I'd have to say that portraiture was a big trend in modern and creative quilting . From pixel quilts made of tiny fabric squares to mixed-media quilts that enhanced fabric with paint or colored pencil, quilt artists made a lot of faces. Judging by what I've...

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., a day when we gather with family and friends, stuff ourselves with traditional foods (or their vegetarian, gluten-free, low-sodium versions), and reflect on what we are thankful for. Some of us also watch football. Our entire Quilting Arts family feels especially...

We have exciting news about "Quilting Arts TV"! Award-winning quilt artist Susan Brubaker Knapp will take over as host, beginning with Season 14. You may know Susan from her beautiful quilts, her many appearances on "QATV" and other TV and radio shows, her teaching in person in the...

The sewing needle is the fiber artist's pencil: you're simply drawing with thread. When you hand stitch, you can guide the direction of the thread to make a design. And when you lower the feed dogs on your sewing machine, you can stitch in any direction, too. In The Art of Thread Sketching: Free...

One of the joys and privileges of working on Quilting Arts Magazine is that I get to talk to a wide variety of quilt artists and find out what makes them tick. 'Masked Self-Portrait,' 24½ " x 19", quilt art by Kate Themel. In the April/May issue of Quilting Arts I have an interview...

During almost a year of sharing quilting ideas with you via the Quilting Daily blog, I've noticed something interesting: circles are popular. Whether the circles are sewn with hand stitching or machine quilting doesn't matter. Every time I write about circle motifs, the post gets a big response...

One of the differences between art quilting and traditional quilting as that in art quilting, thread is almost always part of the design. The choice of thread in machine embroidery , in particular, can affect the look of the quilt. Selecting a single color thread, a variegated thread, a thread that contrasts...

A note from Vivika: Today our topic is mixing fiber art with wet media (specifically watercolor) to use in surface design . So, I called in my mixed-media colleague Cate Prato, Editor of Cloth Paper Scissors Today , to serve as guest blogger. Take it away, Cate! I don't know what it is, but whatever...

You've heard the old adage "practice makes perfect," right? The same goes for free‑motion stitching. It takes time, patience, and commitment to get those stitches smooth and even, and your quilt motifs to look impeccable. In this free eBook, our most popular, we've added 14 new tips...

We're just a week away from the deadline of our current reader challenge , "From Sketch to Art Quilt," and I can't wait to see the results from our talented readers. (You still have time to submit!) "Squirrely Treasures" by Cami A. Weaver I entered my first reader challenge...

'Construction 1' collagraph monoprint by Heidi Miracle-McMahill. Just as the summer is winding down (sniff!), so is the celebration of 10 years of Quilting Arts Magazine . It's not a sad ending, though, because it's been really gratifying to revisit all the talented artists we've...

Last week while back in Massachusetts I picked up a few essential Christmas mementos to send to our new Colorado home. As I was packing them up at Quilting Arts headquarters, people gathered around to comment. The sight of John's childhood Christmas stocking brought out everyone's nostalgic side...

I first became aware of Elin Waterston through the Quilting Arts reader challenges, particularly our annual calendar contests. Very quickly, our team came to recognize Elin's distinctive brand of well-thought-out, uncluttered design featuring a strong focal point. Since then, Elin has written articles...

Is there such a thing as too much texture? I don't think so! Texture is what we art quilters are all about. Texture is what excites the quilt artist and it's what entices the art quilt viewer to come up and take a closer look. Plus, adding more texture to our quilts gives us a great excuse to...